Answers are inline.
AbigtM(a)aol.com wrote:
<snip
>
Hello,
> I am a professional researcher and spend a good deal of
time in Germany --
> especially in Thueringen and Saxony. In fact, had we not experienced this
> horrible attack on our country, I would be in Germany at this time. I was
> scheduled to leave on Sept. 13 and to return on Nov. 13. Because of our
> tragedy, I do not know when I will return to Germany.
> The CARVER/Gerber family is my own family. I am a
descendant of Christian
> Carver, son of Michael. I am VERY intrigued about your finding the ancestor
> of our Michael back to the 1500's in Saxony. Do I understand from your post
> that this is true? I have looked for this particular Michael Carver and
> believe him to have left the Palatinate for America. I cannot prove this.
> Is it your opinion from your research that this particular Gerber family came
> "first" from Saxony? I am very familiar with the area of Zwickau and
would
> like to visit the church to see the records.
The list comes from a book which I had in my possession but sold on eBay
earlier this year (I'm a bookseller part-time and full-time web
developer), about the genealogy of the Gerber family, and from LDS
records. It is my opinion, from studying the histories involved, that
the Gerber family actually came from Bern, Switzerland originally, but
due to the chaos surrounding the Lutheran schism and the Thirty Years
War ended up shifting around from place to place, possibly as merchants
or soldiers (see below). The Saxony connection is merely the oldest
link that I have currently. As you no doubt know, the LDS files are
rife with undocumented connections (an example is my own surname, which
I can only trace back as far as 1756 in SC due to sloppy LDS files from
the 1970's), so I am skeptical of anything I have dating back before
1700 that is based on anything other than historical documents. I am
not a professional researcher by any means, only trying to put together
the most accurate family tree possible.
> Normally, the Gerber families from different parts of "Germany" are not
> related. The methods of obtaining surnames cause many families with the same
> name to be totally unrelated. I am excited about your find.
> I am normally against others using the hard-earned work
of others without any
> effort on their own; however, I would like to know your route for research.
> I will be happy to do my own work -- I don't expect you to do it for me.
Its through mutual cooperation that we can find the answers. I
appreciate your efforts as well, believe me, even though we may be
unrelated, as you pointed out in your other post.
It is unusual for immigrants to be from Saxony during the time period
that
Michael came into Pennsylvania from Germany. But, there is always the
exception.
Now the Gerber that I have found that came to PA from Europe did not
come from Saxony. Christian Gerber, b. January 25, 1690/91 in
Sumiswald, Bern, Switzerland, and immigrated to Lancaster Co., PA, was
the son (according to the LDS files I found) of Andreas Gerber, b.
before 1678 in Aarwangen, Bern, Switzerland. Andreas was the son of
another Andreas Gerber and an Elisabeth Hochwald of Weissbach, Zwickau,
Sachsen, who were both apparently born just after the Thirty Years War.
Andreas' father was apparently Peter Gerber of Heimiswil, Bern,
Switzerland, b. 1616/17. Peter apparently was the son of yet another
Andreas Gerber, b. 1584 in Heimiswil, Bern, Switzerland. Finally,
Andreas' father was apparently also named Andreas, and was b. 1564 in
Gruenhain, Zwickau, Sachsen. The fact that Saxony shows up twice in
this list, once in 1564 and again in the early 1600's, suggests a
definite connection. As I said, however, most of this is based on LDS
files and may be unsupported. But it is a place to start.
Thanks very much for any light you can shed on this!
Roy Carver Bruce
--
First they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not
a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was
not a
Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because
I was not a
trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a
Protestant.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.
-- Paraphrased from Martin Niemöller's 1968 statement before the U.S.
Congress